Saturday is Drug Take-Back Day.

The national prescription drug Take-Back Day aims to provide a safe, convenient, and responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse of medications. At a previous Take-Back Event in October 2018, federal, state, and local government entities took back 914,236 pounds of unused, expired, or unwanted drugs at more than 5,800 locations across the United States. Over the course of the program, nearly 10,878,950 pounds of prescription drugs have been safely collected across the country, including more than 353,257 pounds of unwanted medications in Maine alone.

“Unused prescription drugs that collect in our homes can fall into the wrong hands, creating unintended gateways to addiction and fueling the heroin and opioid crisis,” said Senators Susan Collins and Angus King in a joint statement. “Maine is one of the top 10 states that have disposed the most prescriptions through the DEA’s Drug Take-Back Program, and we are confident that our state will continue to lead efforts to stop the abuse of unused drugs that pose a serious threat to our children, our homes, and our environment.”

Locally, the Take-Back is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bridgton Community Center on Depot Street. Bring expired, unused and unwanted prescription drugs to the Community Center for safe disposal — pills, patches and liquids only, no sharps!, said Rick Stillman, Bridgton Police Chief and Board Member of Lakes Region Substance Awareness Coalition, LRSAC. Unused prescription drugs thrown in the trash can be retrieved and abused or illegally sold. Unused drugs that are flushed contaminate the water supply. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment.

LRSAC also encourages residents of Fryeburg and Raymond to participate and thanks the Fryeburg Police Department and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, who will also be participating in the DEA’s Drug Take-Back Day.

In Fryeburg, drop off site is the parking lot at Rite-Aid Pharmacy, 119 Bridgton Road, in Fryeburg.

In Raymond, drop off site is the Raymond Fire Department, 1443 Roosevelt Trail, Raymond.

For more information about the disposal of prescription drugs or about Prescription Drug Take-Back Day events, go to dea.gov or lrsacmaine.org

In 2018, the DEA reported Maine led the New England states in the amount of drugs collected and disposed of, diverting 55,717 pounds of drugs from entering water systems or causing harm to citizens. Over 553 pounds were collected at the three sites in the Lake Region last year and LRSAC wants to thank everyone for their participation!

LRSAC works to facilitate community action, create meaningful strategic partnerships, and recognize progress toward achieving community-wide prevention, treatment, policy and enforcement goals to help stem the tide of opioid tragedies. You can help! LRSAC wants to hear from you if you have an idea or a success story to share! Follow LRSAC on Facebook at LRSACMaine, visit the website at lrsacmaine.org, send an e-mail at lrsacoalition@gmail.com, call 207-803-9987 or attend a regularly-scheduled monthly meeting, held the second Thursday of each month from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Bridgton Municipal Complex, downstairs.